As per the latest survey from the human Resources Development
Canada (HRDC) and Statistic Canada, there are more than 30,000 jobs to
be filled in the IT industry with qualified software programmers at all
levels. Moreover, an average Canadian company is facing almost 4% of vacancy
in the IT industry.

In order to fill these vacancies, the Canadian government has changed
the immigration regulations in the hiring/ recruiting of software programmers
outside of Canada.

The old regulations required a Canadian company to make
an application to the HRDC, formerly known as the Employment Center, for
hiring foreign workers. The companies also needed to satisfy the government
that there were no Canadians, with similar qualifications, available to
fill those positions.

The companies were also required to give two advertisements
in a Canadian national newspaper in an attempt to fill the vacancies before
hiring any foreign worker. This process was known as employment validation.
This was a very lengthy procedure and on average took about 9- 15 months
to complete.

However under the new regulations known as the SOFTWARE
PILOT PROJECT, no such validation is required from the HRDC. This is because
the Canadian government has issued a national permit to recruit software
programmers from outside of Canada. In fact under the new regulations
the Canadian employer is only required to provide the employee and the
Canadian government with a letter stating the terms and conditions of
employment along with the duties to be performed by the employee.

Once this job offer is issued, the employee can directly
approach the Canadian High Commission office to apply for employment authorization
and a visa to work in Canada. The employee must present himself before
the concerning officer with proof of education, work experience and the
job offer letter.

This streamlined process is designed to ensure the timely
and speedy issuance of a temporary permit to work in Canada. This process
is often quickly completed within a day or may take about 2-3 weeks at
the most.

The different types of Software programmers eligible to
apply under this program are as follows:

There is no quota in issuing this type of visa. Moreover
as per the new regulations dated 18th October 1998, spouses of software
programmers working in Canada can also obtain a work permit to work in
Canada in any occupation category. They are not required to be highly
qualified. This regulation is specially designed to make Canada a more
attractive place to work and stay compared to other western countries.